Does everything need to be an ad?

Just as majestic as Apple’s Aerial screensaver, no? Increasingly, every pixel in front of our eyes is fought over by a pool of large technology companies that are trying to squeeze fractions of cents out of ads and promotions.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Podcast) Downstream 67: Paramount, Peacock, Peas in a Pod

Is this phase of the streaming wars reaching an endgame? We discuss the fates of Peacock and Paramount+, and consider Max after a year under its new name.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

Apple’s emulator about-face is good for everyone

Less than two weeks after Apple changed its rules on emulators, Riley Testut’s Delta game emulator climbed to the number one spot in the U.S. App Store within twelve hours of its launch.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

Apple in the Enterprise: A 2024 report card

In 2021, device-management startup Kandji approached Six Colors to commission a new entry in our Report Card series focusing on how Apple’s doing in large organizations, including businesses, education, and government.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 550: Strap In and Forget My Email

Early web nostalgia and memorable online experiences, the most disappointing tech product we’ve owned or reviewed, our persistence in troubleshooting tech, and the oldest piece of technology we still use.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 491: A Fundamental Misunderstanding of Podcasts

Can we record this discussion?… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 508: You’re Judging It Wrong

Skepticism about the future of the Vision Pro and brutal reviews of the Humane Ai Pin make us discuss misguided expectations and the power of the smartphone duopoly.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

Can anyone but a tech giant build the next big thing?

Humane Ai Pin. (Photo: Humane) I’m not bullish on the Humane Ai Pin, the clip-on device whose first reviews arrived with knives out this week. The thing feels like a commodity product from 2026 that escaped back a couple of years—a basic hardware conduit for cloud AI models that … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

The (poor) design of Apple Sports ↦

Dr. Drang has come for the Apple Sports app: Scores are only part of what a good sports app is about. Sports apps are used not only when you can’t watch a game and want to be kept plugged in, they’re also used—even more often used, I think—to give you background information on th … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Sponsor) Kolide

My thanks to Kolide for sponsoring Six Colors again this week. Kolide wants your business to be secure. Think of it like airport security: there are two lines, one to verify your identity and another to scan your carry-ons.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

The chain, or opening files in macOS ↦

Howard Oakley of Eclectic Light Company has a deep dive on how your Mac knows what app to open when you double click a file: In the days of Classic Mac OS, that was accomplished using the infamous Desktop Database, which recognised files and apps by means of their Creator and Typ … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

Gurman: Forget the M3, the M4 is on the way ↦

Mark Gurman of Bloomberg has another one of his excellent chip scoops, this time about the future of the Mac: The company, which released its first Macs with M3 chips five months ago, is already nearing production of the next generation — the M4 processor — according to people wi … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

Want Apple to change? Regulation works.

Lately you can’t throw a digital camera without hitting a story on the various regulatory and legal challenges Apple’s been facing. While some have decried these actions as interference in the internal operations of a company, there’s one salient detail that I think those opinion … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 549: The Sweetness of Adults

Color e-readers, apps and devices we use while traveling, tech products we have but no longer want, and the tech products we’d immediately replace.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

Report: DMA’s browser choice requirement benefiting third-party browsers ↦

Ashley Belanger, writing at Ars Technica: Reuters collected data from six companies, confirming that, when presented with a choice screen, many EU users will swap out default browsers like Chrome or Safari for more privacy-focused options. … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 490: Rescue Robot

We’re not mad at technology, just disappointed.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

MLB iPad app updated, works on the Mac again ↦

Our weeklong baseball nightmare is over. As I recounted on opening day, the MLB app for iPad—which works on the Mac and is great to have!—had… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 507: Differently Social

Casey Liss joins Myke to discuss Apple’s new Spatial Personas for visionOS, and their thoughts on an immersive experience from… Gucci? Also, emulators are coming to the App Store, and Myke wants to check Casey’s vibe.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Sponsor) Are You Worse at Security Than the TSA?

You know the drill: when you go through airport security there are two lines. In one, a TSA agent makes sure you’re the person in your passport photo.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Sponsor) Listen Later

My thanks to Listen Later for sponsoring Six Colors this week. Listen Later is such a clever idea. If you’re like me, you collect longer articles throughout the week that you just don’t have time to dive into at the moment.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Podcast) Downstream 66: What We Want Hasn’t Changed

Is it time for a Disney pep talk? We discuss what’s working and not working, and how Disney’s ready for streaming success if it’s willing to change.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

Another app switches to a subscription model, angering its users ↦

Voice Dream Reader, the highly regarded Mac and iOS text-to-speech reading app, is the latest beloved app to adopting a subscription model, angering its loyal user base in the process.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 548: My Partner Is a Ninja

Our physical versus digital media preferences, the one tech product we have in (too much) abundance, whether we keep our phones in a case, and our journaling habits and methods.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 489: What Did I Miss?

You guys know calendars.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

Spatial Persona on Vision Pro changes the game

Now that’s more like it. Spatial appears above the red Leave button. On Tuesday, Apple flipped the switch on a new version of Persona, its 3D representations of visionOS users.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

MLB tvOS app adds Multiview, and it’s a winner

Last week I provided a lot of tough love to Major League Baseball’s apps on Apple’s platforms. The MLB visionOS app is really buggy and lacks some key features.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 506: Legacy When? Legacy Now?

We often cite anonymous reports about Apple’s future, but where do those reports come from? We discuss of the value and ethics of Apple rumor coverage.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Sponsor) Turn Articles into Podcasts with ListenLater.net

Welcome to a world where your reading list becomes your listening playlist. We are thrilled to introduce you to ListenLater.net—an innovative service that turns articles into podcasts, making your favorite reads accessible in your favorite podcast app.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

A simple explainer on Threads and federation ↦

Matt Birchler’s got an excellent and quick primer on what it means to turn on federation on your Threads profile: I know I’m drilling this in a lot, but you literally do not need to have a Mastodon account. … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

PSA: The MLB app doesn’t work on the Mac anymore ↦

Play… ball? A few years back I reported with delight that you could now use the MLB iPad app on Apple Silicon macs. While MLB’s TV streaming service works on the web, it was nice to have everything in a separate app.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

Apple’s Immersive Video problem

On Thursday Apple debuted its first immersive video since the Vision Pro launched, a five-minute-long compilation of highlights from the MLS Cup playoffs late last year.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Sponsor) Kolide

My thanks to Kolide for sponsoring Six Colors this week. Kolide helps its customers keep their devices in compliance, which keeps their company data safe. Kolide has seen a rise in cyber liability insurance issues recently.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

MLB for visionOS strikes out on Opening Day

You can’t close the main window, and that’s not the worst of it. As is typical for one of Apple’s best sports partners, Major League Baseball had a demo app for visionOS ready to go for the debut of the new platform.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Podcast) Downstream 65: More Serotonin

Lots of Disney this time! We talk Disney’s big succession question, Taylor Swift’s Disney+ numbers, and Disney’s deal in India. Also, a quick Sports Corner on NFL streaming rights, Spulu, and ESPN as a streaming aggregator.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

Apple’s immersive MLS highlight reel debuts later today

Apple announced today that the first Apple Immersive Video documentary for Vision Pro, featuring highlights from last year’s MLS playoffs, will debut tonight (March 28) at 6 p.m.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 488: I’ve Already Forgotten What We Were Talking About

All things begin with the Department of Justice.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 547: Chaos???

Our use of tethering for Internet, Mac buying advice, our notification styles, and the TikTok ban.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

Apple announces WWDC 2024 takes place June 10-14

It’s that time of year, when young developers’ fancies turn to thoughts of platform updates. Probably because Apple has announced the dates for its 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference, which will take place between June 10 and 14.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

A disk so full, it couldn’t be restored

My younger child’s MacBook Pro was unsalvageably full. Only a complete wipe would suffice—and then Time Machine failed us. I love my children, but they do sometimes forget what I do for a living: answer questions and write books about the most troubling problems people have with … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 10 months ago

(Podcast) Upgrade 505: Abolish Drafts: The 2024 iPad Draft

The U.S. Department of Justice joins the European Commission in contributing to Apple’s legal troubles; and in a surprise, pre-emptive move, we attempt to predict the future of the iPad via a draft!… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 11 months ago

(Sponsor) Struggling to Afford Cybersecurity Insurance? Here’s Why.

When MGM Resorts suffered a $100 million hack in September, CEO Bill Hornbuckle wasn’t too worried about the lost revenue, because cyber insurance would cover the tab.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 11 months ago

EC investigates Apple and other tech gatekeepers over DMA compliance

Europe’s Digital Markets Act continues to be the gift that keeps on giving—a gift Apple probably wishes it could return. The European Commission today announced that it was opening a slew of investigations into big tech companies over their non-compliance with the DMA, including … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 11 months ago

(Sponsor) Magic Lasso Adblock: YouTube ad blocker for Safari

My thanks to Magic Lasso Adblock for sponsoring Six Colors this week. Magic Lasso Adblock is simply the best Safari ad blocker for your iPhone, iPad and Mac.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 11 months ago

Apple’s M-series processors have a cryptographic flaw ↦

Ars Technica’s Dan Goodin has an excellent (if technical) rundown of a recently unearthed security vulnerability in Apple’s M-series processors. Basically there’s a system that tries to predict what memory addresses are going to be used in order to speed up processing, but Apple’ … | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 11 months ago

U.S. versus Apple: A first reaction

The U.S. Department of Justice, 15 states, and the District of Columbia sued Apple on Thursday. While I am not a lawyer, I’ve written extensively about Apple for 30 years and just read all 88 pages of the full complaint.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 11 months ago

MLB app will slow itself down, let your media stream catch up

When I wrote about Apple’s new Sports app, I heard from several people who pointed out that maybe Eddy Cue had done his job a little too well.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 11 months ago

(Podcast) Clockwise 546: Taco iPad

How we search online, our tips for minimizing vehicle data tracking, the GenAI features we’d like to see added to Apple’s platforms, and what features we’d want to see in a future iPad.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 11 months ago

(Podcast) The Rebound 487: Have You Tried NOT Going Viral

This is the ad-free version.… | Continue reading


@sixcolors.com | 11 months ago